


The Piper

by esanabridges



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Gen, Interview, Not really Mai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 21:56:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13420440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esanabridges/pseuds/esanabridges
Summary: If you could be anyone from history, who would you be?





	The Piper

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [ghosthunt_challenge4](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/ghosthunt_challenge4) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Pied Piper  
> A musician that lures children from their families/ homes.

I'd be the Piper.

...

You know, the Pied Piper of Hamelin? Hamelin was this little town that was having problems with rats, and one day, this guy showed up. He was dressed strangely, so the town regarded him with suspicion, but he promised that he could get rid of the rats if they would agree to pay him for the job. Since the town was getting desperate, they agreed to do so. The Piper played his pipes and led the rats out, but afterwards, the town went back on their agreement. The Piper grew so angry that he waited until all the adults in the town had left for church, and then he went back into town and lured the children away with him. They disappeared into the hills and were never seen again.

…

It's like an old folk legend. Some people think the Piper is actually just an allegory for death, and the children all died of the plague. It was pretty common back then.

…

I don't know if he's real or not, but I always thought he was kind of cool when I was a kid. He used music to get what he wanted.

…

Yeah, a pipe. I'd obviously play the bass.

…

Well, I don't think he hurt the kids. Maybe he just took them off to a better place. That's what I'd like to do.

…

You know, there are always kids who need better homes. Wouldn't you have liked me to take you away?

…

No, I'm just kidding. You had your teacher, and then you made your own way, 'cause you're the most stubborn person I've ever met. Well, maybe not the most - Ayako or Naru could probably give you a run for your money - but pretty close.

But there are always kids who just don't feel like they belong. I was one of those. My parents - my dad - you know, he wasn't a bad dad. He loved me a lot, and he cared for me. We still keep in touch. But he was disappointed. I could see it in his eyes when he caught me listening to rock music or sneaking off in the middle of the night to go to a concert. I wanted to be up on a stage - the lights, the people - that's a thousand times better than shaving my head every other week and dressing only in robes. I'd choose that any day.

…

You fishing for compliments there, Mai?

…

I'm just kidding. I'm not going to abandon you all. You wouldn't last a day without me. Plus, you guys make the whole ghost hunting thing pretty fun, as much as it can be, and I'd rather work with spirits than in a temple any day.

And I know that there are kids out there that are just like I was. There are kids who just look out the window of the lives their parents have made for them, and they dream about doing something completely differently, but it takes them years, if they ever do, to tell their parents what they believe and what they really want.

So, that's who I would be if I had to choose someone. I'd be the Pied Piper, and I'd take away the unhappy children.

…

Of course, I could deal with them, Mai. You know me, children love me.

…

Where will I go? I don't know. No one knows where the original Piper took the kids, you know, if he existed. Probably another world. But it doesn't really matter. As long as they're happy. And free.

**Author's Note:**

> To the person who made this prompt: I'm not sure this is what you wanted, but it's the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw it, so I hope you took some enjoyment away from reading this. I always really loved Monk's relationship with children (if only we'd seem him with more than just that one arc!), and him being a bassist in his daily life, instead of a spiritualist was both so surprising and so unsurprising to me.
> 
> I hope the "..." made sense as Mai's part of the conversation. I didn't really want to write it, because I wanted to focus on Takigawa. I imagine that Mai was asking this for some report that she has to do in class, and Monk went a little off-script with it, since the Piper has never been proven to be a real person.


End file.
